After a series of tough road losses over spring break, the Belles (0-4) look to redeem themselves in their upcoming matchup against Aurora on Thursday afternoon.
Despite the team’s struggles so far this season, Belles coach Amy Long says she is optimistic the team will recover by improving its midfield transitions and building up its offense.
“In games, we would make a great stop on defense or our goalie would make a great stop and then we couldn’t get back down to the other end of the field,” Long said. “We would create a turnover somewhere in the midfield. So getting that transition down will be incredibly important for us.”
Long said she expects freshman midfield Aubrey Golembieski to have a significant impact for Saint Mary’s against the Spartans (0-3).
“As our leading scorer, [Aubrey] has been doing great on the draws, and has taught her teammates the importance of slowing down on offense instead of taking forced shots,” Long said. “We haven’t made the best offensive decisions in our first four games, but I believe that Aubrey will continue to be a standout for us and help improve our offense immensely.”
Weather conditions might present a problem for Saint Mary’s. The Belles have held the majority of their practices inside, and cold temperatures are in the forecast for Thursday’s game.
“These past few days were our first times practicing outside, and the girls’ reactions to the temperature definitely had an effect on the way they played,” Long said. “Once the girls get used to it, though, I’m sure we’ll have no issues.”
Overall, the Belles’ key to success against Aurora depends on their ability to control ball movement, Long said.
“As we move forward, we really just need to take care of the ball. From the defensive end to the offensive end, we need to not force passes,” Long said. “If the girls can make accurate passes downfield and catch the ball in order to move it down the field, we will without a doubt be more successful and hopefully achieve victory.”
Both the Belles and Spartans will try to grab their first wins of the season tonight at Vago Field in Aurora, Ill. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 EST.
